Numerous types of computer input apparatus exist today. The most common is a classic QWERTY Keyboard while for direct computer input for screen manipulation, the most common is the “Mouse” that is manipulated in x and y.
Touch screens (and less common, touch pads) are another form of input, generally more popular in commercial use, in which typically a certain zone on the screen is touched to indicate a command. Numerous examples exist in the art, and several prior art examples are given in the references above.
Each of the above examples is in wide use. But they all have a common shortcoming in that they are difficult for the very old, the very young, and the disabled. Of the group, the touch screen is the easiest to operate, since one can, with ones finger, directly touch an appropriate input icon displayed. But even when a special pen rather than ones finger is used, resolution in most cases is much more limited than what is achievable with a mouse and its associated pointer on the screen. And in home use, the touch screen is a significant added expense and encumbrance over a conventional display.
In addition, each of the common prior art devices above typically is used with a vertically positioned display. While the mouse and keyboard are used on flat horizontal surfaces in front of the display, with the display vertical, the touch screen must generally be operated substantially vertically in concert with the display, which is not convenient for many people and is ill suited for group use around a table. While a horizontal touch screen can in theory be provided, such are rare due to the bulk of the CRT display commonly used. And, if achieved with an LCD or Plasma display screen, they would be expensive today.
Finally, each of the above is typically at most two-dimensional (except when touch screens are constructed for example as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,008,000 by one of the inventors). The X-Y position on the display monitor screen provides the input command, whether selected by a mouse, key strokes, or a touch icon. The invention herein can be proportional to data in one or more other dimensions as well, as will be explained.
Finally, at least one other disadvantage of the prior art exists, namely that the monitor of the computer needs to be used for input, and cannot, at least in its entirety, simultaneously be used for display, such as video, animations or the like. If one can afford two monitors, this is a solution, but at a cost in both dollars and space. Even with today's favorable monitor prices, the invention herein is still at least $150 cheaper than a two monitor plus keyboard/mouse solution, and at least $500 cheaper than a touch screen plus monitor solution (the closest analog).
To use a monitor for less than its entirety (e.g. sharing its display surface with input command data and output display), is confusing and limiting for many applications.
To recap then, today's mouse and keyboard devices require considerable training and physical coordination, and are thus not suited to small children and infants, or the very old. Touch screens as pointed out are expensive, sometimes awkward to use, and often lack resolution. And they are not horizontal. One example of horizontal play made possible with the invention, is for infants who can crawl or sit on a playpen or crib floor. Not only is it easier for them to play using the invention, but it is easier for their mothers to aid their play.
In regard to the book embodiments of the invention, somewhat competing “Electronic books” are described in U.S. patents such as                U.S. Pat. No. 6,144,380 “Method of entering and using handwriting to identify locations within an electronic book”        Other types of electronic books with various signaling devices on a page are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,124,851 “Electronic book with multiple page displays”        U.S. Pat. No. 6,041,215 “Method for making an electronic book for producing audible sounds in response to visual indicia”        
While the taking of a video image of a person, for incorporating into a book cover is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,782,598 by Salzberger, the use of cameras to actually view and produce a digital image of a conventional printed book (or other printed page matter) itself is not disclosed anywhere we can find.
A related aspect of the invention concerns programming methods and media. When most people today wish to input programmed sets of commands to a computer, they load a program using magnetic (e.g. Floppy disc) or digital optical media (e.g. CD Rom), Alternatively, the internet is becoming a medium for program download from remote data sources.
Years ago, these devices were not generally available. Programs were often typed in on keyboard terminals, or somewhat later, inputted to computers on Punched cards, derived from the Hollerith sorting cards developed in the 1930's approximately. Such punched cards used holes punched in cards, which were optically then observed to be on or off (binary 1 or zero) at various locations on the card.
Data was also entered this way, evolving into the famous “Don't fold, spindle, or mutilate” cards so common 30 years ago. This was also an example of user readable printing on the data input media. (e.g. a US Government Check).
The magnetic and digital optical media of today can contain millions of times more data than the cards of yore. But they generally contain little or no printed data to help the user, and often are more difficult to handle. The printed matter only appears on a screen when the magnetic or optical device is read, and the media cannot provide information laying by itself on a table, for example.
One might argue that the internet and fast downloads which are just around the corner technically will obsolete magnetic media anyway. But the invention addresses a different problem. What is needed is something that allows people to better interact with a computer, or the internet, and make use of it. Optical presentation of data (e.g. the printing on the check) capable of visual comprehension is very useful in this regard, as the eyes are the sense most capable of data assimilation.
This invention in one preferred embodiment, employs a programming board, while in another, a printed “card” is as a computer input which can widely distributed, by means familiar to the average person, such as magazines, newspaper, by hand or whatever. Or you can print it yourself on your computer printer for example. And uniquely, this card can be read by electro-optical sensing means (typically a high resolution TV camera) which can see the user touch or otherwise interact with the card, book or other printed matter as well, in common with other aspects of the invention.
In combination with this touch attribute of the invention, we know of nothing in the art relating to coded optical program generation. However, a recently granted U.S. Pat. No. 6,098,882 has some aspects of some of the coding aspects our invention, and is an interesting illustration of the utility of what is proposed. The inventors of U.S. Pat. No. 6,098,882 came from a different direction, and have concentrated on the data coding technique, though a check of their web site (paperdisk.com) does reveal more concentration on applications, though quite different from the ones disclosed herein which are focused more on connection to the actual input of the user.
Other examples of optically readable codes, albeit for other purposes are the new Two Dimensional Data Matrix codes. For example see U.S. Pat. No. 5,742,041 by Liu “Method and apparatus for locating and decoding machine-readable symbols, including data matrix symbols”, which describes techniques that could also be used to read a monochrome version of the code on the cards of this invention. The optically readable code data elements herein however, can be arranged in any way desired, and does not have to correspond with any existing convention.